SeaTac () is a city in southern King County, Washington, United States. The city is an inner-ring suburb of Seattle and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The name "SeaTac" is derived from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's nickname "SeaTac," itself a portmanteau of Seattle and Tacoma.

The city of SeaTac is in area and has a population of 31,454 according to the 2020 census. The city boundaries surround the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (approximately in area), which is owned and operated by the Port of Seattle. The city includes the communities of Angle Lake, Bow Lake, McMicken Heights and Riverton Heights, which were established before the city's incorporation. Residents voted for incorporation on March 14, 1989, and the city incorporated in February 1990.

History

The earliest people to live in the Highline ridge and surrounding lowlands were Coast Salish peoples for thousands of years before European contact. The area sits between Puget Sound to the west and the Duwamish and Green River valleys to the east. It was used by Duwamish and Muckleshoot peoples for fishing, hunting, and overland travel. In the 1850s, federal surveyors recorded salal and huckleberry across the area, believed to be evidence of deliberate land management through intentional burning and cultivation, rather than pure wilderness. In 1990, a diver discovered two dugout canoes from the bottom of Angle Lake that were carbon-dated to approximately 1678. Both the Muckleshoot and Duwamish tribes claimed the artifacts, which were eventually transferred to the Muckleshoot Tribe for stewardship.

The Highline area, which includes modern-day SeaTac, Burien, most of Des Moines, and unincorporated communities such as White Center and Boulevard Park, was settled by European Americans in the mid-1850s. Over the following decades, small farming communities developed around Miller Creek and other drainages on the plateau. The federal government finished construction of a military road from Fort Steilacoom to Fort Bellingham in 1860, passing through the Highline area to the east of modern-day SeaTac. One of the more prominent roads of travel from Seattle to Tacoma early in the 20th century is Des Moines Memorial Drive (originally called the High Line road), which passes directly through the middle of the region, particularly through SeaTac and Burien.

The construction of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport transformed the area. After the U.S. military took control of Boeing Field following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Port of Seattle accepted a federal grant in March 1942 to build a replacement civilian airport as part of a larger wartime pattern of federal intervention in municipal airport development across the country. The airport was dedicated on October 31, 1944, though the U.S. Army Air Forces used it primarily to stage B-29 bombers through the end of World War II.

The communities of Riverton Heights and McMicken Heights tripled in population during the war as workers moved to the area to staff Boeing's plants and the new airport. After the war, as Sea-Tac became the primary commercial aviation gateway for the Puget Sound region, the surrounding unincorporated communities grew further. By 1962, the airport and its tenants employed 6,000 workers with an annual payroll of $40 million and supported an estimated $133 million in regional business activity and 30,000 local residents.

The development of Interstate 5 in the 1960s drew regional through-traffic away from Pacific Highway South, which evolved into a commercial strip of motels, restaurants, and service businesses catering to airport travelers. This concentration of airport-dependent commerce would give the future city of SeaTac an unusually large tax base relative to its residential population.

In response to growing noise complaints in the 1960s and 1970s, the Port Commission joined King County in a comprehensive planning effort that resulted in the Sea-Tac Communities Plan of 1976, the first program in the United States in which an airport operator established a noise buffer by purchasing homes and school buildings adjacent to the facility and soundproofing others. The plan received the American Institute of Planners' Meritorious Program Award in 1978, and 420 acres of vacated land north of the airport were converted into what became North SeaTac Park.

Incorporating the area as a city was proposed by local residents in the 1980s, while a competing proposal sought annexation into Des Moines or another city. Local residents voted for incorporation on March 14, 1989, and the city incorporated on February 28, 1990. Des Moines amended their annexation territory following the decision. The original ballot used the name "Sea-Tac", but the incorporation petition to the county government omitted the hyphen.

Government and infrastructure

Local government + Presidential Elections ResultsKing County Elections Year Republican Democratic Third Parties202028.17% 3,22969.12% 7,9242.71% 311201627.38% 2,45964.35% 5,7798.27% 743

SeaTac is governed by a city council which consists of seven elected councilpersons. The city "has contracted with the King County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement since incorporation in 1990." Deputies assigned to SeaTac wear city uniforms and drive patrol cars marked with the city logo. There are currently 51 patrol officers, detectives, and support staff assigned full-time to the city.

In January 2014 the SeaTac Fire Department entered a 20-year contract with Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority (RFA) to form the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority. SeaTac's three fire stations, Station 45, 46, and 47, joined Kent's Station 73 to make up RFA's West Battalion.

The Seatac Municipal Court, located in the City Hall, is a court of limited jurisdiction. The judge is authorized by the Revised Code of Washington to preside over civil infractions, traffic infractions, criminal misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor violations, and civil orders for protection.

Public Works is responsible for planning, design, construction and maintenance of streets, transportation improvements, surface water utility, and solid waste and recycling programs.

In 2013, voters in the city narrowly passed a minimum wage of $15 per hour for employees of airport-related businesses, such as hotels, parking lots and car rental agencies. In a later appeals court decision, the $15 minimum wage was reversed for employees working entirely on Port of Seattle property within the city limits but still applies to employees of airport-related businesses in the city proper.Kelly, Gavin. "SeaTac: the small US town that sparked a new movement against low wages." The Guardian (The Observer). Saturday February 22, 2014. Retrieved on February 24, 2014. Union workshops are exempt from the $15 minimum wage.Raising the minimum wage without raising havoc, Washington Post, September 5, 2014 However, the Washington Supreme Court in August 2015 reversed the King County Superior Court ruling, which said that SeaTac did not have authority to set a minimum wage at the airport. The Supreme Court rejected the argument that the wage did not apply because the airport is owned by the Port of Seattle. The Court stated that Proposition 1 can be enforced at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport because there is no indication that it will interfere with airport operations and that federal labor law does not preempt the provision protecting workers from retaliation.

Federal government presence

The Riverton Heights Post Office is located in the city.

The National Transportation Safety Board operates the Seattle Aviation Field Office in the city.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates the Federal Detention Center, SeaTac in SeaTac.

Economy

The city is home to over 900 licensed businesses, nearly 80 of which are Fortune 1000 companies. They employ nearly 40,000 employees in the city of SeaTac and generate local sales of approximately $3.7 billion.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are headquartered in the city. Four airlines have operations at 18000 Pacific Highway South (also known as 18000 International Boulevard) in the city, including Asiana Airlines, – Although the address says Seattle, a search using Google Earth or Yahoo Maps will reveal that the headquarters are in SeaTac. EVA Air, Hainan Airlines, and China Airlines.

Economic development SeaTac's Department of Community and Economic Development was formed in early 2011 to create a one-stop permitting center, increase the level of service and assist in the facilitation of economic development by creating a more cohesive approach to real estate development and job creation. The new department has four divisions: Economic Development, Planning, Engineering Review, and Building Services. In 2013, the City of SeaTac Proposition No. 1 passed with 50.64% of the vote to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Geography and climate According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.

Surrounding cities

Demographics

As of the 2022 American Community Survey, there are 11,414 estimated households in SeaTac with an average of 2.63 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $79,433. Approximately 11.3% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. SeaTac has an estimated 71.3% employment rate, with 25.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 84.2% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (50.1%), Spanish (16.3%), Indo-European (6.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (11.9%), and Other (15.7%).

Racial and ethnic composition +SeaTac, Washington – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 % 2000 % 2010 White alone (NH) 14,666 10,6199,182 57.52% 39.46%29.19% Black or African American alone (NH) 2,266 4,4557,519 8.89% 16.56%23.90% Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 346 299230 1.36% 1.11%0.73% Asian alone (NH) 2,804 3,8745,741 11.00% 14.40%18.25% Pacific Islander alone (NH) 664 946972 2.60% 3.52%3.09% Other race alone (NH) 77 62146 0.30% 0.23%0.46% Mixed race or multiracial (NH) 1,371 1,1801,561 5.38% 4.39%4.96% Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3,302 5,4746,103 12.95% 20.34%19.40% Total 25,496 26,90931,454 100.00% 100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, SeaTac had a population of 31,454 and a median age of 36.9 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 110.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 112.5 males age 18 and over.

All residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,093 households in SeaTac, of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.4% were married-couple households, 27.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 11,774 housing units, of which 5.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 10,005 31.8% Black or African American 7,588 24.1% American Indian and Alaska Native 447 1.4% Asian 5,783 18.4% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 990 3.1% Some other race 3,767 12.0% Two or more races 2,874 9.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 6,103 19.4%

2010 census